Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have spoken out after Italy beat Spain in the final of the Davis Cup – with both men absent. Four-time Grand Slam champion Sinner helped his nation win the World Cup of men’s tennis in 2023 and 2024 but sparked backlash when he decided not to represent Italy this year, instead choosing to have a longer off-season.

Meanwhile, Alcaraz was set to represent his country but pulled out of the team event days before their first tie after picking up a hamstring injury. Italy and Spain still made it to the championship tie without their best players, and Matteo Berrettini and Flavio Cobolli helped Italy win their third Davis Cup title in a row.

Berrettini and Cobolli did not lose a match all week, beating Austria in the quarter-finals and Belgium in the semis before beating Pablo Carreno Busta and Jaume Munar respectively in Sunday’s final.

Spain beat Czechia and Germany in decisive doubles rubbers to advance to the championship tie. But Carreno Busta fell 6-3 6-4 to Berrettini, while Munar blew a set and break lead over Cobolli to lose 1-6 7-6(5) 7-5.

Sinner and Alcaraz might not have been in action, but they were keeping a close eye on the final, and both sent a message to their teammates after watching Italy beat Spain 2-0.

“Congratulations for this incredible victory,” Sinner wrote on his Instagram story after Italy won their fourth Davis Cup title and their third on the trot, becoming the first country to achieve the feat since the USA won five consecutive titles from 1968 to 1972.

Alcaraz also sent his well wishes to the Italians, paying tribute to the Spanish squad for their efforts this week. The 22-year-old wrote: “Congrats to [Italy] for another Davis! Very proud of our people [Spain]! Massive!”

Sinner wasn’t the only player missing from Italy’s squad. World No. 8 Lorenzo Musetti pulled out of the team tournament shortly after he was eliminated in the group stage of last week’s ATP Finals. Team captain Filippo Volandri paid tribute to both men – and to Matteo Arnaldi, who was part of the winning team in 2023 but has since dropped down the rankings – after clinching victory again.

“It’s the third one in a row, but I’m crying, and I didn’t cry for the first one. It’s something unbelievable. We had a lot of tough moments, even if it doesn’t look like [it], but we had it. But as a group what I said, we had the power to manage these moments,” the 44-year-old said.

“We felt also the players that were not here, but it was like they were here, like Jannik, like Arnaldi, like Musetti. It’s a big, big team and only if you have a big team, you can reach this unbelievable result, it’s incredible. Thank you, time to enjoy.”